


there he goes again, swingin' through the city's veins

by crocs



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen, Movies - Comics Fusion, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), The Author Has Never Met A Pair Of Parentheses They Didn't Like, The Mary Janes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 20:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13419252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crocs/pseuds/crocs
Summary: The thing is, Peter's been a singer since before he was out of the womb.In which Peter needs to relax from pretending not to be Spider-Man, and singing's always been a respite for him. The Mary Janes help.





	there he goes again, swingin' through the city's veins

**Author's Note:**

 

The thing is, Peter's been a singer since before he was out of the womb. If you were to believe Aunt May, anyway. But then Aunt May has always had this way of knowing or finding out whether stuff is true or not.  
  
Peter's tempted to chalk it up to just Magic Aunt Powers, which are totally a thing, by the way -- he's seen what happens when Wanda Maximoff gets in a room with her "niece" and "nephews" without Mr. Barton around. Magic Aunt Powers exist.  
  
Mostly, Peter just thinks that May's somehow caught the opposite of the Parker Luck when it comes to discovering secrets. Exhibit A being that one time May caught him and Ned red handed when they rented a movie well above their age range (which, now that he's thinking about it, it was pretty smart of her to let them watch it anyway and scar themselves for life) and Exhibit B being -- well, that whole mess with the Spider-Man suit.  
  
Back on track.  
  
He's been singing since before he was born, basically. Through being a 'snot nosed little tot' --  
  
(Sue-From-Down-The-Block's words, who is literally older than dust and still manages to beat would-be muggers with her handbag into the ground without Spider-Man's assistance. She's known Peter for forever, and whenever Peter lets his mind wander off to thinking about what she's doing now he remembers that he hasn't seen her in like two months and makes a beeline to her townhouse with a tray of 'sorry I haven't popped by in so long' lasagna.  
  
Sue must have eaten so many 'sorry' lasagnas in the time she's known Peter.  
  
One time, he asked her why she put up with him -- over lasagna, of course -- and she replied that he sort of reminded her of her husband. Peter was more flattered than weirded out. Sue's husband was apparently a famous scientist that was a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. and did Top Secret experiments on Top Secret things. Well, not Top Secret enough for her to not have pictures of the couple in matching lab coats with an array of mysterious people -- people that included Nick Fury and the 'late' King of Latveria.  
  
It was pretty much an unspoken thing, but almost everyone agreed that the King wasn't really dead, though. Mostly through the common knowledge that they hadn't bothered to commission new paintings of the new King when he rose to power, and also because everyone knew about the Doombots that he built when he was 'alive'.  
  
It's pretty easy to fake your death with robots, it seems.)  
  
\-- to being a radioactive-spider-themed teenage vigilante.  
  
Really off track now. Peter's been singing for actual millennia, before time began --  
  
"Okay," says Gwen, a drumstick pointed at his chest threateningly, "I do not need to hear you mumbling and freaking out a third time. Stop being nervous."  
  
Peter grimaces, and pushes the drumstick away from his torso. "Did I really say that all that aloud?"  
  
"Sue sounds nice," confirms MJ, eyes still on her sketchbook as she draws the scene in front of her, her legs swinging as she sits on one of the amps that hasn't been carried through to the stage yet. Peter pretty much wants to sink into the ground to an early grave. "I'm pretty sure we need to sign some NDAs, you loser. Hey, we could write a song about it."  
  
Cindy hums, and pecks Gwen on the cheek.  
  
She's wearing a t-shirt that proclaims the 'mystery tour' dates of The Mary Janes scrawled in black sharpie on her back; so far, the gigs listed are _Unlawful Unplanned Gig That We Nearly Got Arrested For In Central Park: 3/10/17_ and _Stark Tower Lobby Until They Kicked Us Out Seriously Peter You Could Have Vouched For Us: 8/12/17_. Somehow, she still looks more presentable than Peter.  
  
"That sounds nice," she agrees, waves a little, and makes her way to the audience through the door to the kitchens.  
  
There's an almighty clack as Glory tucks her keyboard under her arm to carry to the stage and folds the stand.  
  
Peter knows that the technical term is electric piano, but honestly he really doesn't understand the difference sometimes between the two. From what MJ's told him about the band, Betty sometimes jokes about how the keyboard is better because then Glory has the option of having Dog Noises and Telephones Ringing as instruments.  
  
Then Glory usually asks how Ned is doing, and that shuts Betty up.  
  
(Ned and Betty dated for maybe two weeks in freshman year. It was really awkward when they broke up because Ned and Peter and Betty were all in Yearbook Club and AV Club together. Ned eventually left both because it was too awkward and neither of them would work with each other on 'pain of death'.  
  
For such an easy going guy, Ned was really dramatic sometimes.  
  
Then Peter left, because -- _well, hello, Mr. Stark, yes I'll fight Captain America at an airport a continent away and thanks for the Spider-Suit, so kind, I'll see you in like three months and then get crushed under a building, sound good?_ \-- and until MJ agreed to let him sing as part of the Mary Janes' set at Joe's Bar 'n' Grill, where they currently were, he hadn't really seen her in person since.)  
  
Peter tugs at his shirt collar and sighs.  
  
Joe's Bar 'n' Grill is the type of place that would have normally made MJ go on a protest about gentrification in New York. The walls are painted cool greys and have masses of exposed red brick. Every chair is not really a chair, and is painted bright neon green -- Peter swears up and down that as he came in to the sound check, he saw a lime vaulting horse for gymnastics instead of a bench -- and the chalkboard wall boasts a selection of craft ales, all sounding pretty disgusting. He's ninety percent sure without seeing him that the owner has one of those fancy hipster beards that Ned once told him that he secretly wants to grow.  
  
Not that he's complaining. He's actually pretty pleased about where the gig is. It's precisely the place the Avengers would never look, or want to be seen in. It's not that he doesn't like the people he shares his living space with -- they're the fricking Avengers -- it's just that he likes his "delusional" (thanks, Mr. Stark) sense of privacy.  
  
He and May were first offered a floor in Stark Tower not long after the whole Vulture mess. His aunt was hesitant at first, and so was he -- but then the rent started to increase and the bills started to pile up.  
  
In the end, it took Aunt May finding his half-finished job application to the photography department of the Daily Bugle, taking pictures of _himself_ of all things, to decide to pack their bags and move in. Mr. Stark told everyone that he was promoting one of his interns (of which he obviously had many) to be his live-in intern, which was really funny for a bit because everyone took pity on him and expected him to do intern stuff -- like this one person, Darcy, who sent him a gift basket with assorted fruits and left him a note saying she was glad to not be the only scientist wrangler any more -- but then everyone _really_ started to expect him to do intern stuff.  
  
He couldn't even talk about being Spider-Man, because the only people that knew were Aunt May, Ned, Mr. Stark and possibly Ms. Romanov and Mr. Barton (they're super spies, and supers pies know everything, except from apparently HYDRA infiltrating their organization); Mr. Stark told him to not do anything he would do or wouldn't do, and Peter's pretty sure revealing your secret identity ("I am Iron Man", anyone?) is a part of that. It's suffocating.  
  
Peter needs to breathe, badly.  
  
Singing's always been a relaxing outlet.  
  
The owner pokes his head in to the store room, where they've been making cuts and edits to the set throughout the day. Peter's disappointed to see that he only has a vaguely messy goatee, but still gives himself points for the man-bun and the Fitbit on his wrist.  
  
"You guys ready?" he checks, and when MJ gives her affirmative -- a short, regal nod -- the five teens go out the door and into the back of the place, behind the bar. The four regular members of the Mary Janes half-sprint to the stage, cloaked by the semi darkness of the room. Peter hangs back, waits for his turn on one of the "bar stools" (this one recycled from what seems to be the seat of an ex-mountain bike, spray painted forest green), and watches the show.  
  
The bar's pretty full tonight, but from what Peter can see, there's a large group that makes up most of it. His nerves have mostly dissipated by now; he works out the rest by tapping along to one of the band's songs, _Murderface_ , penned about a cat of all things, and by breathing slow and steady. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Ned whooping and cheering along with Cindy in tow. The world's best groupies.  
  
Out of everyone in this venture, Gwen Stacy is the person he knows the least. Mainly because she goes to a different school, Midtown High, and also a smidgeon of the fact that one of her dads is a police captain hell bent on arresting Spider-Man. Her other dad is a fireman for the FDNY -- a sort of Romeo/Juliet thing without the death, Peter gathers.  
  
He's not really sure which profession lead to Gwen's self proclaimed _"prescribed teenage rebellion"_ and dip-dyed pink hair, or how exactly MJ, Betty, and Glory met her, but the last day they've all spent together has been proof enough that they need to swap numbers at some point.  
  
Gwen seems a good person to know in an emergency.  
  
And before he knows it, the final song before Peter's three to finish off the set is finished. MJ sings the last lines of _Vulture_ and introduces him, and suddenly he's being pushed to the stage by Joe because his legs feel like rotten wood and his hands feel like clammy rotten branches.  
  
"Don't screw up," MJ whispers to him as he takes the mic. He'd normally be offended, but ever since MJ became captain of the decathlon team he's learned that that phrase is MJ for 'break a leg!'.

Ned gives Peter a barely visible but still enthusiastic thumbs up from the back, confidence hat wobbling with the sudden motion.  
  
It's not really so bad up on the stage. The darkness of the bar floor hides most of the customers' faces, and the spotlight that Glory spent two hours rigging and calibrating for their performance shines so brightly that it's almost blinding him. This has the added effect of making Peter shut his eyes whenever he can, which is good because then he doesn't have to think about how much Gladys in the second row is judging him with her face.  
  
He doesn't actually know a Gladys who would come here to drink craft ale and gluten free cupcakes, but the thought still matters.  
  
"Uh, hi," says Peter, and he rocks back a little on his heels and squeezes his eyes shut because the feedback from the mic squeals very loudly. Glory reaches over and adjusts the amp until it half-goes away, which is better than it being fully there. "I'm Peter, as you already heard, and, um, this is There She Goes by The La's."  
  
MJ starts the intro on her electric guitar after a slight pause. Betty plucks at her bass. Glory hovers over her keyboard, practiced. Gwen waits for the drums to kick in, and when she does, they echo around the Bar 'n' Grill. This place has really great acoustics, thinks Peter, and nearly misses his cue.  
  
_"There she goes,"_ he begins, _"there she goes again, racing through my veins..."_  
  
The crowd seem to love the cover. There's a couple of red lights that Peter recognizes as recording lights. He's kind of startled. He didn't really think that anyone would even want to record the performance. It was the first time they'd all performed together, and maybe the last if he didn't concentrate.  
  
_"...And I just can't contain, this feeling that remains..."_  
  
They breeze through _There She Goes_ , and then _Paper Doll_ , an original penned by Gwen and Betty, gets more than a few claps.  
  
MJ takes the mic. "This one means a lot to some of us," she says in that detached but still quite pointed way of hers, "so here it is, I guess. This is _Face It Tiger."_  
  
Face It Tiger is one of those songs that gets stuck in your heard for days. It's got a killer bass line, killer lyrics, a high frenzy tempo and a banger of a tune. That's what Aunt May said anyway, when she was their test audience, and he's sticking to it.  
  
(Magic Aunt Powers.)  
  
_"There's no use crying over pinpricks!"_ MJ sings. _"Don't fight the name if the name fits!"_  
  
Peter joins in. _"You're doing good, think that you could do better. Wanna crack your skull, get to the heart of the matter..."_  
  
_"You gotta face it tiger, face it tiger!"_ they sing together, and Gwen goes mad on the drums. _"It's all you've got! You've gotta face it tiger, face it tiger! You've hit the jackpot!"_  
  
Normally, it would all be a sensory overload. But the way all the instruments come together -- Glory's synths and the almost rhythmic way she has to bat away Betty trying to change how it sounds, Betty's intense bass and how her stomps frame each bar, Gwen's overarching rhythms that keep them all in time and yet manage to add lots of flair to the song, MJ's voice, shouting and singing and at the same time melodic -- it's satisfying. Whistles and whoops from the audience from all corners.  
  
This kind of organised chaos sticks.  
  
They finish the song with a flourish. The Mary Janes (plus Peter) are witness to a standing ovation. Lead by --  
  
"Oh my _god_ ," whispers Peter, really glad his mic is off.  
  
Mr. Barton is clapping and whooping loudly. Mr. Wilson and Captain Rogers (Mr. Stark had laughed at him when he first called him Mr. Rogers, because of an old tv show or something) raise their glasses at him, and the Captain takes a sip and cringes. He just catches Ms. Romanov dabbing her eyes a little -- colored contacts, apparently, judging by how her eyes are a startling brown when she lifts the tissue.  
  
He looks at Ned again and finds him and Cindy deep in conversation with Dr. Foster. Traitors.  
  
Joe ushers most of the customers out (it is closing time, after all) but he takes one look at the assortment of Avengers and it's apparent that he's star struck (for everyone except Mr. Barton -- Peter guesses that Joe's Bar 'n' Grill is yet another place whose dumpster is often filled with too much Hawkeye). His goatee is somehow even more tousled.  
  
"You guys were great!" says Mr. Wilson as Peter hops off the stage. He kind of looks both proud and guilty at the same time, and Peter has the unfortunate realisation that the masses of red recording lights belonged to the group.  
  
Captain Rogers stands up to shake his hand. It's kind of weird and antiquated, but charming -- the Captain's at least six inches taller than he is without slouching, and Peter has to go up on his tip-toes to shake it.  
  
Cap usually avoids him whenever he's around. Peter privately thinks that it might have something to do with beating him up at the airport, but then again he doesn't know that Peter's Spider-Man. He can't think of any other reason. Darcy once mentioned on one of their coffee runs that she thinks it's because Peter reminds him of himself at that age. Peter dismisses that out of hand. Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man is leagues away from National Hero (And Pardoned War Criminal) Captain America.  
  
"Why -- what are you guys doing here?" Peter shrugs his shoulders, trying to look casual and failing. His left arm flails a little.  
  
Ms. Romanov affixes him with an appraising stare. "You kept going off the radar at the same time each day," she says, which is Ms. Romanov for 'we were worried about you and so we followed you to wherever you went without telling you'. He's not as fluent in Black Widow as he is MJ, so that translation might have been a little off, but whatever. "Sam's right. It was very enjoyable. We didn't know you could sing."  
  
Translation: 'Oh, "we" meaning collective "we". I knew you could sing the moment you set foot in the tower.'  
  
Ned and Dr. Foster make their way over, eyes bright with shared ideas, and the Avengers shuffle along to make room. Ned stands next to Peter, practically bouncing.  
  
"Peter, this is Jane. Jane knows _Thor_ ," Ned gushes, a half whisper that only Peter catches.  
  
"I know," he whispers back.  
  
"Oh, my god, Peter. Wait, do _you_ know Thor? Have you been holding out on giving me and Thor the broship we deserve?" Ned accuses, and Captain Rogers chuckles. Oh -- super soldier hearing, duh.  
  
Peter attempts to defend himself. "No, I haven't --"  
  
_"Guys!"_ Cindy's voice cuts through the growing chatter (argument). She's holding a black sharpie deftly, plucked from the variety that Gwen has fanned out between her hands. She's changed into a grey hoodie, probably sometime in the Avenger-induced confusion, and the tour t-shirt she was wearing is spread out on one of the transparent tables littered with fake coffee stains. "We need to think of something to call the gig."  
  
"What?" Mr. Wilson asks under his breath, his voice echoing out from behind Peter as he follows him to the table. Peter can almost hear his brows furrow.  
  
"It's a time honoured tradition --"  
  
"-- Jeez, we've only done it twice --"  
  
"-- that we write down each destination of the "tour" on the back of this t-shirt," Betty finishes, glaring at Glory for her interruption.  
  
Glory grins. "And I have the perfect name."  
  
_That One Time The Avengers Crashed Our Gig Because They Were Worried About Peter Even Though He's Not Really Part Of The Band (feat. Peter Parker) (Joe's Bar 'n' Grill)_ is scrawled with the current date in bleeding permanent marker below the last gig.  
  
Mr. Barton steals a purple pen from Gwen and signs his call sign with a flourish. Mr. Wilson and the Captain fight over the red pen; Mr. Wilson prevails and draws something that looks like a wobbly red blob ("...And _voila!_ Redwing!"); Cap ends up drawing his shield with the inner circle in violet pen instead of red. When Mr. Wilson finishes, Ms. Romanov snatches his pen and draws her widow hourglass, embellising it with an outline in bright green pen.  
  
(Peter takes a moment to secretly scrawl a little Spider-Man symbol with an unused blue marker in the bottom right corner.)  
  
(After all, he's kind of an Avenger too.)

 

**Author's Note:**

> written to fill this prompt from write_for_me:
>
>> \- (peter lives with the avengers) so peter can sing ? VERY WELL ? and he sings like on the weekend at bars and stuff and none of the avengers know and they all go out and peters singing and doesnt notice the avengers  
> Some of them record/some of them are speechless (bonus points if Nat is completely moved and tearing up i love me some nat showing emotion)
> 
>   
> i'm so sorry that nat doesn't cry because of peter's voice but colored contacts are a pain too
> 
> all of the songs listed in this fics are actual songs by the band Married With Sea Monsters (apart from There She Goes, which is also an actual song by The La's and from which the title of this fic was adapted) and were written as actual mary janes songs! they were inspired by the edge-of-spider-verse issue with the mary janes in, which actually became its own comic series.
> 
> (my hyperlinks aren't working no matter what i do so here you go in case you want to have a listen:  
> Vulture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkvHpGpHmUQ  
> Paper Doll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X74qcFh2yM4  
> Murderface: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHShJ_8N1zw  
> Face It Tiger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1AO8WHUlM  
> There She Goes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZXLLMbJdZ4)


End file.
